"I heard you're trying out for the volleyball team."
I dropped my fork with a clang onto my tray. "Heh…um, who told you that?"
Tucker grinned at me. "I saw you sign-up, after third period today. You're not as sneaky as you think, Sam."
I glared at him. "So…"
"So?"
"Just spit it out already."
"Spit what out already?" Danny chimed in, plopping down next to Tucker, across from me.
Shooting me a devious smile, Tucker glances towards Danny. "Sam is going to try out for the volleyball team."
Danny's eyebrows shot up. "Uh, seriously?"
I took a deep breath. "Yes, I am. And go ahead, tell me I'm stupid for it, because I know that's what you're thinking," I snapped.
Tucker snorted and Danny's eyes widened. "No, Sam! I don't think you're stupid at all."
I rolled my eyes.
"I do," Tucker was chuckling now.
Danny hit him in the arm and then looked at me again. "What made you want to do this?"
"Um…I'm not really sure. I just did it. And what difference does it make?" I raised a brow at them expectantly.
Danny opened his mouth to speak, but Tucker beat him to it, "Let's face it, Sam; you're an anti-conformist with a deep hatred for any kind of high school sports team. You wear all black and you most definitely don't wear school colors or tight shorts, and you don't even get along with half the people in this school. You being on the volleyball team is one step lower than you being on the cheerleading squad. What is not wrong with this?"
I blinked at him, and Danny's jaw dropped. I could simply not believe it.
"TUCKER. I'm not…that predictable, am I?" It looked as if both of my male friends were trying to refute that fact, but I continued. "And you know what? I can do what I want. And I'd really appreciate doing what I want without ridicule from you! I didn't say anything when you tried out for the baseball team two years ago!"
Tucker had the gall to look insulted. Sometimes I just wanted to punch him in the mouth. "That's so different! Those are not even close to being the same situations!"
"Well, maybe you're right. Because I'm actually going to make this team. Unlike you."
And with that little statement, as hard-hitting as it was and how guilty I felt after saying it, I just picked up my tray and walked off, without looking back.
Destroying the Human
Chapter One;
Our game is tighter than spandex!
"My life has been filled with terrible misfortune - most of which never happened."
- Montaigne.
Believe it or not, the only reason any of this happened was because of Paulina.
Why does that little fact not surprise me? I know that Paulina isn't a cold-hearted bitch. She has feelings. She's a person. I had come to terms with that when she came to terms that I was also human and she didn't have to hate me. Paulina and I tolerated each other on a daily basis. Not friends, not enemies.
But of course, she had to go and SCREW IT UP.
It's Paulina, people. She screws everything up.
But anyway, it all started when my first period class, Gym. There are two things wrong with that scenario: one: it's wrong for any person, no matter how horrible they are, to have Gym first period. Do they want to kill me? And two: I had first period Gym with Paulina, of all people.
It's enough to make a girl throw herself off a cliff, that's what.
While I tolerated Paulina, I still didn't like her very much. Her mannerisms still annoyed me, after all. Her shallowness, especially when it came to friends and her boyfriends. Her extremely dramatic voice, her ability to get away with everything, her manipulative personality.
Let's just say that we weren't destined to be each other's maid-of-honors after we graduate high school.
Class had barely begun when I realized my day was going to be very interesting…
(Flashback)
"Sammy, dear? Do you have some extra gym shorts?" Paulina asked me, and I sighed.
"Yeah, sure. And, uh, don't call me that."
"Well, what do you want me to call you?" She asked with a smile and flip of her hair.
I shrugged. "Why not Sam, like everyone else?"
"How about Samantha?"
"Go die," I muttered, plucking a pair of gym shorts from the bottom of my locker (ew) and tossing them at her. She caught them with a startled look on her face and then smirked at me.
"Thank you so much, Samantha-dearest!"
"Why does she insist on the annoying nicknames?" I mumbled to myself, pulling on my shoes and making my way to leave the locker room.
"Hey, Sam!" Valerie catches up to me once I'm on the gym floor, and I nod at her.
"What's up?" I ask.
"Oh…nothing. I heard something about you yesterday!"
I raised a brow at her suspiciously. "You did, did you? Let's hear it."
Valerie smiled at me mischievously. "Um, well, I heard you had like a SUPER MEGA-CRUSH ON Danny Phantom!"
I blinked. I gazed at my surroundings and realized just how loud Valerie's voice was. No one seemed to be paying attention to us, though…
We were standing in the back of all the girls, where we were supposed to be playing volleyball. I always cringed whenever the ball came near me, so I just pretended to play.
"A super-mega crush? On who?" I whispered.
"Danny Phantom!"
This was the most surprising part. I expected her to say Danny Fenton, at least, but no. Danny Phantom? Seriously? When has she ever seen me talk to him?
Of course, Valerie doesn't know that Danny Fenton is Danny Phantom. And I didn't plan on telling her that now. Because if I admitted that I liked one, that means I had to like the other, and that would just be getting myself into more trouble.
As for admitting whether I liked Danny Phantom, well, I didn't see any harm in humoring Valerie for the time being.
"Yeah, totally. He's smoking hot, wouldn't you think so? Especially in that ghost-fighting suit." I smile coyly at her and she laughs, obviously knowing that I'm teasing.
"Okay, well, I was just messing with you anyways," She laughs out, and I punch her playfully in the arm.
Out of the corner of my eye, I can see the volleyball heading straight towards us. On a whim - and for my own protection - I throw my arm up and hit the ball with an open palm, where it lands safely over the net. No one on the other team even goes for the ball. Some of them stare at me in awe, and I am grateful when the teacher dismisses us to get dressed.
It's when Paulina returns my PE shorts that I know that I'm screwed over.
She saunters over with a sly smile on her face. "Oh, Samantha. Why didn't you tell me?"
"Tell you what? That those shoes are hideous? Gladly. Your shoes are hideous, Paulina."
She glares at me and crosses her arms. "No! I mean, why didn't you tell me that you liked Danny Phantom?"
She said it with a small pout on her face, as if she was a child and I had taken away her only toy. But her tone was evil and louder than usual, and the remaining people in the locker room looked up and stared at us curiously.
I hissed. "I don't like him."
"That's not what you said earlier," Paulina cocked her head and I realized her eyes were shining, in an almost sadistic way.
That bitch.
"I never said that." I gritted out. Well, better to lie than to tell the painful truth.
Wait. I might have that wrong.
"Yes, you clearly did! Starr heard you too, didn't you Starr?" Paulina calls out, and Starr appears right behind her.
"Yes, you said, 'He's smoking hot. Especially in that ghost-fighting suit.' "
My jaw dropped. I couldn't believe it. Starr was like a puppet, or a robot.
But that would probably make it easier to destroy her.
Unfortunately for me, the person I felt like destroying now was not a robot.
Paulina was human, and that meant I'd have to fight dirty.
"Sam, I am so sorry!" The minute the bell rings, Valerie is at my side. "I was just messing around with you! I didn't think they'd take it so seriously!"
I shrugged, trying to look nonchalant. "It's okay, really. It's not your fault. It…it'll all blow over. Right?"
She looked doubtful, but she nodded anyways. I took this as a good thing and smiled at her. "No big deal. You ready for Chem?"
The look of worriment and guilt on her face disappeared. "Yeah, hold on, I'll be back. I just need to go to my locker. You can go ahead on to class."
I waved to her and walked into the Chemistry classroom, taking my seat in front of Paulina and Dash.
How did they get into Chemistry 2?
The world will never know.
(But in reality, I do know. Paulina flirts with the teacher and he passes her because he thinks he can get some; and Dash only passes because the Chemistry teacher is also the football coach.
Yeah, I know.)
It was a good twenty minutes into the class when I noticed a small slip of paper under my foot. I glanced at the teacher, who was in the middle of a lecture, and picked it up without being seen. I opened it up underneath my desk and read it:
Samantha, I need to talk to you after class. It is very urgent.
I didn't need any help to know that it was from Paulina.
"What do you want?" I decided to beat around the bush. There was no use with playing mind games. Especially Paulina Sanchez's mind games.
"What makes you think I want something? Actually, I just want to make a simple deal with you." She smiled at me pleasantly, but I smelled a rat. A big, disease-ridden rat.
"What kind of deal?" I asked warily.
"Hm…well, since I just recently found out about your little crush on the ghost boy, I came up with a fabulous plan!" She clapped her hands once, now grinning. "You join the volleyball team with me and Starr, and I won't tell anyone who you like!"
I gaped at her in disbelief. And really, just when I thought this girl couldn't get any more evil and conniving, she had to prove me wrong. Of course.
"You call this a deal? Paulina, that's BLACKMAIL. And I refuse." I crossed my arms childishly against my chest and glared at her.
She put on her famous puppy-dog pout. "But Sammy!" She whined. "The volleyball team hardly has any players as it is. And I saw you hit the ball in gym today. You'd be good for the team!"
"Okay, sure, whatever. But why didn't you just ask me, instead of blackmailing me?" I asked, not really realizing that my voice was turning into a girlish whine, just like hers.
She sighed, looking dramatically exasperated. "Because that way you can refuse. But this way, if you refuse, I will tell everyone who you like. But no, not just that. It won't be that easy for you…"
It was as if she was imagining all the cruel, horrible things she could do to me right in front of my very eyes, and I was a little more than horrified.
"Where do I sign up?"
(End flashback)
I had a feeling my life was never going to be the same after this.
WHY DO I HAVE TO START A NEW STORY.
It's a question I often ask myself, haha. But seriously, I'm sorry. There is like one, maybe two, chapters left of confessions of a teenager in denial, and it's in the process of being written. It's coming, I promise.
Review, lovers.
P.S. Some of you may think it's weird that Paulina and Sam aren't really enemies anymore. But I'm sick of the same situations over and over again, so I kind of switched it a little. Oh, and I'm not trying to bash volleyball or volleyball players. I play volleyball. I almost picked soccer, but that's a cliche sport for fanfiction and I know nothing about soccer!